Silver's chemical symbol is Ag, and its atomic number is 47.
Pure silver is too soft to stand up under constant wear, it is usually mixed with copper to form an alloy before it is made into commercial articles and jewellery.
The word Sterling has been used to mean high quality silver since the 1200's.
Silver items marked Sterling means they contain at least 92.5% silver. Some jewellery may be marked 925, instead of with the word Sterling.
Silver is not changed by moisture, dryness, alkalis, or vegetable oils, but sulphur in the air will cause silver to turn black or tarnish.
Sterling silver consists of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% copper. Fine silver contains 99.9% pure silver. Bali and Thai silver is usually in a range of these silver content percentages, but the majority of it, especially the Thai silver, is at the 99.9% level, making it a finer silver than we often buy over the counter in UK shops. Adorn Jewellery Store stocks 75% of its silver from Thailand.
